A person's level of safety at a particular instant in time is a function of numerous factors, some of which are within the control of the person and others which are outside the control of the person. Those factors within the control of the person include actions or inactions of the person that are often based on information available to or known by the person at the particular instant in time, an evaluation of such information and accompanying assessment of risk by the person using his/her personal knowledge and judgment, and decisions made by the person in light of such information, evaluation, and assessment of risk. Factors outside the control of the person include actions or inactions by other persons, and the occurrence of events that are man-made and non-man-made.
For example, a person desiring to get from one location to another may have a choice of walking or driving, each with its own risks. If the person chooses to walk, the person may be required to choose between a route along which there has been a number of attacks and/or robberies and a route along which there is substantial road and sidewalk construction and poor lighting conditions. If the person chooses to drive, the person may be required to choose between a route along which traffic accidents and gridlock are prevalent and a route that is substantially longer in distance and along which drenching rainstorms are prevalent with vehicles being often swept away by road flooding. In order to make a decision on whether to walk or drive and on which route minimizes risk and improves the person's level of safety while traveling, the person needs information related to each option at the particular instant in time that the person must make the decision. Thus, to make such a decision, the person needs real-time crime, road construction, lighting, traffic accident, weather, and other information that is geo-correlated relative to the routes that may be selected by the person. Unfortunately, such consolidated, geo-correlated information is not currently available or accessible through existing systems and methods in real-time based on the then current geographical location (or “geo-location”) of the person.
Another factor determining a person's level of safety at a particular instant in time is the availability and accessibility of nearby assistance in the event of an emergency situation. A person's level of safety is higher when nearby assistance is readily available and accessible. Such assistance may be provided by governmental entities, by private businesses, or by other nearby persons. More particularly, such assistance may be provided by policemen, firemen, paramedics, roadside assistance personnel, vehicle towing businesses, vehicle repair businesses, home repair businesses, family members, close friends, good Samaritans, and others depending on the nature of the emergency. However, while assistance from governmental entities is sometimes available by phone via 911 or 511 services, obtaining such assistance often requires a person to interact with an emergency services operator and provide location information as to the person's whereabouts when the person may have no idea of exactly where they are. Also, while private businesses may be contacted by phone, a person requiring assistance may have to search for the phone numbers of such private businesses and does not generally know if they are nearby and, hence, able to provide immediate assistance. Similarly, while family members and close friends may be contacted by phone, a person needing assistance may not know if any of them are nearby. Additionally, a person requiring assistance may have no prior knowledge as to whether a private business or other assistance provider provides quality services.
Still another factor in determining a person's level of safety at a particular instant in time is the ability of family members and close friends to know the then current geo-location of the person. By knowing a person's geo-location, family members and close friends may be able to contact the person by phone and warn them of then-occurring events near their geo-location, thereby increasing their level of knowledge and, hence, of safety. Also, by knowing a person's location, family members and close friends may be able to adapt their own activities so as to be somewhat nearby in the event an emergency arises. Unfortunately, current systems and methods do not enable the real-time tracking and display of the then current geo-locations of a micro-crowd of family members and close friends on a portable device.
Therefore, there is a need in the personal safety industry for a system, apparatuses, and methods that enhance a person's safety by collecting and providing geo-correlated information related to man-made and natural events that may affect the person's safety, by making geo-correlated emergency assistance more readily available and accessible, by tracking and displaying the then current geo-locations of the members of a person's pre-defined micro-crowd, and, that resolves these and other difficulties, shortcomings, and problems with current systems, apparatuses, and methods.